Dagger’s Moon

The next generation tactical RPG

Dagger’s Moon is a turn-based

tactical roleplaying game set in a

gritty not-so-fantasy world.

What Makes Dagger’s Moon Different?

Dagger’s Moon

What Makes Dagger’s Moon Different?

Truly Tactical: Every move counts

Stats 2.0: More of what matters, none of what doesn’t

Gritty Atmosphere: Giant rats and pixies, begone

Less Grind, More Gravitas: Fewer, better fights

Old School Challenge: Every battle on a dagger’s edge

Frontline Position

Support Position

Flanking Position

Truly Tactical

Tactical Battlefield: Every fight occurs on a hand-designed battlefield with unique tactical opportunities.

Smart Mobility: Characters begin in a fixed position and are restricted in where they can move and who they can attack. Fights never devolve into war-of-attrition melees.

Every Class Shines: The rigid positioning system means that formation and specialization are key. Who you bring to each fight and how you use them matters more than ever.

No Fight is the Same: Use your party in different ways to take advantage of destructible barriers, elevated towers, impactful weather events, claustrophobic crypts, enemy reinforcements, and other battlefield features.

Friendly Party Deployment Positions

Enemy Party Deployment Positions

Truly Tactical

Every battlefield is unique, with attractive opportunities and unknown pitfalls. You must plan ahead but adapt quickly. Some examples:

Crypt of Rising Dead Bridge Crossing

Heavies duke it out on the narrow bridge while ranged fighters hurl missiles into the

fray, unless a nimble flanker can ford the river and take the fight to the enemy’s rear.

Position your best brawler atop a fallen king’s grave to lead your party in holding back a seemingly endless zombie horde.

But beware what lies underfoot…

Take on a massive armored war elephant and its brigand handlers cowering to the rear.

Your frontline fighters won’t last long, unless your support specialists can turn the tide.

War Elephant Fight

Stats 2.0

What have we done? Over the last few decades, in an attempt to improve depth, stats systems in RPGs have become bloated, unwieldy, and no longer meaningful. Since when does a leather belt improve your intellect? What does it really mean to apply a 20% increase to a critical hit multiplier?

Let’s start from scratch: Dagger’s Moon achieves depth through hard choices and tactical complexity—no calculator required. Every skill is impactful, every piece of equipment has a unique effect on gameplay, and true magic is rare.

Up the excitement: When you strip away the fat, it gets your blood pumping. Finding a sword that does fire damage is a big moment. Why? Because you don’t see them everyday, and you don’t have to spend 20 minutes with a spreadsheet to figure out if +20 to fire damage is worth giving up six other complicated stat bonuses.

Stats 2.0

Classes have become boring; let’s make them cool again. In modern games, classes fall into the same trope of homogenized fighters, mages, and rogues. In Dagger’s Moon, brawlers will never be able to do magic damage, and spellcasters have more interesting things to do than cast magic missile. Some examples:

Hashish Wild Mage Missionary Jaguar Warrior

This desert assassin—adept at deception and mobility—has formed an alliance of

convenience with the sand gods.

A young and reckless savant spellcaster, whose raw arcane power is challenged only by her inability to control it.

Healer by day and enforcer by night, this pilgrim brings his faith to those in distant lands—whether they want it or not.

Steeped in legend and nightmare, these bloodthirsty jungle warriors serve an empire hidden amongst the long-forgotten trees.

Stats 2.0The Hashish skill tree shows how every skill decision is impactful.

Snake Venom

Lvl 5

Lvl 20

Lvl 10

Lvl 15

2

3

Sand Strike

2

2

Scramble

2

4

Mirage

2

3

1

2

Survive

3

Desert People

2

2

Raider

2

3 Jihad

3

Key

X

Ability becomes available

Upgrade ability for X skill points

Pinnacle ability

Stats 2.0

Snake Venom Sand Strike Scramble Mirage

Survive Desert People Raider Jihad (pinnacle ability)

1) Single-target strike with added poison burst damage

2) Adds poison damage over time3) Weapon becomes serpent and

ignores armor and block4) Serpent weapon has a chance

to instantly kill target (adds 2 balance to cost)

1) Single-target strike guaranteed to critical hit if behind target or in a desert zone

2) Chance to disarm target3) Change to knock down target

(adds 1 balance to cost)

1) Can move up vertical spaces with 100% success without losing a turn

2) Can relocate to any adjacent position without losing a turn

3) Can relocate to any empty position without losing a turn

1) When attacked at range, can trigger for 50% chance to miss

2) When flanking, can trigger for two outcome rolls and pick the better of the two

3) When attacked by any means, can trigger for 50% chance to miss

1) In desert zone, immune to all effects of deserts and 25% increased damage

2) In desert zone, gains balance twice as fast

3) In desert zone, 50% chance to relocate to adjacent position instead of dying

1) Exchange normal attacks with any enemy until one combatant dies, then return to starting position.

2) If the Hashish dies during the Jihad, all friendly units do double damage to that enemy until the end of the battle.

[Mechanics TBD] [Mechanics TBD]

Stats 2.0The Jaguar Warrior skill tree shows how every skill decision is impactful.

Jungle Torch

Lvl 5

Lvl 20

Lvl 10

Lvl 15

2

3

Spirit Strike

2

2

Blood of the Oak

2

3

1

2

Feathered Serpent

Treewalk

2

2 Imprison

3

Jaguar Guide

3

Key

X

Ability becomes available

Upgrade ability for X skill points

Pinnacle ability

2

2

Less Grind, More Gravitas

Dagger’s Moon introduces a first-of-its-kind progressive combat system. Central to the system are the three resource types:

Leverage: As warriors clash, they feel out their opponent and identify new ways to gain the advantage. Used by heavy, melee-focused classes.

Balance: As a battle wares on, nimble fighters gain situational awareness and are able to execute more precise attacks. Used by light range-focused classes.

Mana: Magic cannot be invoked spuriously; those who wield it must take time to consider their foes and build up magical energy. Used by spellcasters.

First-Turn Blitzkrieg? In many RPGs, reserves of spendable resources—like mana, energy, memorized spells, action points, etc.—begin at full value and are spent down almost immediately. This leads to a torrent of initial actions, followed by a war of attrition.

The Progressive Approach: In the Dagger’s Moon progressive combat system, these resources start at 0 and build up each turn. Think Magic: The Gathering’s mana build-up system.

A New Layer of Tactics: Gradually building resources adds flexibility and depth. Should my hashish attack now to poison his foe or wait another turn to unleash a stronger dervish on the enemy’s entire front line? That enemy wild mage in the back hasn’t cast anything yet—what could she be saving up for?

Less Grind, More Gravitas

Dagger’s Moon also introduces a new flanking mechanic. In addition to attacking directly in melee and at range, certain units in flanking positions can attempt to get behind enemy lines. However, they must defeat or evade enemy flankers first.

The core principles of the flanking system are:

• Some battlefields offer flanking opportunities, some do not

• Some units can flank (i.e. “flankers”), some cannot

• Flankers have a “flanking score” that represents their ability to flank as well as to defend against enemy flanking attempts.

• Units in flanking positions move at the end of each turn.

• Opposing flankers simultaneously select whether to flank or defend.

• If one or both choose to flank, flanking scores are compared to determine a winner.

• The winning flanker can then sideline the loser for a turn and attack the enemy’s rear.

Flanking Positions

Less Grind, More GravitasA flanking possibility tree shows how a simple system offers tactical depth. Assume there are two flankers (A & B) arrayed opposite each other at the beginning of the battle.

A gains the advantage

B gains the advantage

A chooses to engage

A chooses to sideline

B Sidelined

B chooses to stay sidelined

A & B locked in combat

BeginA & B choose to

flank

B chooses to reenter battle

A wins B wins

B choses to reset

B choses to engage

A chooses to re-try flank

B chooses to re-try flank

Neither re-tries flank

A wins B wins

Reset to original positions

Both A and B flanking scores reduced for rest of battle

The flanker must sacrifice a turn to re-try flanking

Sidelined flanker cannot participate in battle, but may be attacked at range

While B is sidelined, A may attack enemy flanks with a large bonus

Action or result

Action or result not shown

Additional explanation

KeyA flanks,

B defendsB flanks, A

defendsA & B choose to

defend

Flanking scores compared

Enemies

ZombieUndead, Humanoid

Armor Dodge Block

Defense:

6 (low)

Attack: 10 (low)

Damage: 10 (low)

Critical chance: 10% (low)

Critical effect: 0.3x (low)

Weapon: None

Flanking: No

Bite

Description

Attack and Defense

Resilience

Effects

Fire: Normal

Poison: Immune

Dark: Immune

Light: Very vulnerable

Arcane: Vulnerable

Fortitude:

Mind:

Evasion:

Crippled

Dark Channeling

Scorched

Life

Leverage (+1)

200

BrigandHuman

Armor Dodge Block

Defense:

12 (med)

Attack: 40 (high) / 20 (med)

Damage: 20 (med) / 10 (low)

Critical chance: 10% (low)

Critical effect: 0.3x (low)

Weapon: Bow/Sword

Flanking: 30 (high)

Poison Arrow

Description

Attack and Defense

Resilience

Effects

Fire: Normal

Poison: Normal

Dark: Normal

Light: Normal

Arcane: Normal

Fortitude:

Mind:

Evasion:

Knocked Down

Scramble

Dirty Fighting

Life

Balance (+2)

250

Spider QueenArachnid, Beast, Huge

Armor Dodge Block

Defense:

12 (med)

Attack: 50 (high)

Damage: 40 (high)

Critical chance: 30% (high)

Critical effect: 1.5x (med)

Weapon: None

Flanking: No

Bite

Description

Attack and Defense

Resilience

Effects

Fire: Vulnerable

Poison: Immune

Dark: Normal

Light: Normal

Arcane: Vulnerable

Fortitude:

Mind:

Evasion:

Well Fed

Webbing

Infest

Life

Leverage (+2)

2000

Type: AttackRange: AdjacentCost: 2 leverageDuration: 4 turns

Attack the target with a poisonous bite, dealing 10 poison damage per turn for four turns.

Spider Queen has a 50% chance to become Well Fed, decreasing the cost of the next Infest ability by 1 leverage. This effect can stack up to 3 times.

Type: UtilityRange: All enemiesCost: 3 manaDuration: Until resisted

Weave a giant spider web around the entire enemy party. Unless resisted (Evasion 5), each target becomes entrapped and cannot move or use abilities. Each turn, entrapped characters have an increased chance to escape (Evasion X = 5 – turns since entrapped).

Type: AttackRange: AnyCost: 5 leverageDuration: N/A

Infests a webbed target with the Spider Queen’s children. On the next turn, target has a chance (Fortitude X = 3 + turns since infested) to burst open and give birth to a spiderling, killing the target. The spiderling has health equal to the target’s health upon death.

Bite Webbing Infest

Desert RaiderHuman

Armor Dodge Block

Defense:

12 (med)

Attack: 40 (high)

Damage: 25 (med)

Critical chance: 20% (med)

Critical effect: 1x (med)

Weapon: Spear

Flanking: 30 (high)

Snake Venom

Description

Attack and Defense

Resilience

Effects

Fire: Normal

Poison: Normal

Dark: Normal

Light: Normal

Arcane: Normal

Fortitude:

Mind:

Evasion:

Knocked Down

Dervish

Life

Balance (+2)

250

Desert Kin

Ancient WorldspinnerHuman

Armor Dodge Block

Defense:

6 (low)

Attack: 100 (extreme)

Damage: 20 (med)

Critical chance: 10% (low)

Critical effect: 0.5x (low)

Weapon: Ancient Orb

Flanking: No

Flux Beam

Description

Attack and Defense

Resilience

Effects

Fire: Normal

Poison: Normal

Dark: Normal

Light: Normal

Arcane: Very Resistant

Fortitude:

Mind:

Evasion:

Knocked Down

Coriolis

Life

Mana (+2)

250

Alpha & Omega

Variable

Coriolis Alpha & Omega

Type: AttackRange: Any targetCost: VariableDuration: N/A

Attack with a high-energy ray that dissociates the particles of the target, adding 5 arcane damage per mana point spent.

Alternate: Receive a duplicate version of any positive magical effect on a friendly character. This costs a turn but no mana.

Type: DefensiveRange: SelfCost: 3 manaDuration: Until depleted

Gravitational distortion absorbs the next two ranged attacks against the Worldspinner. Melee attackers have a chance to be disarmed (Fortitude 3).

Type: UtilityRange: AllCost: 6 manaDuration: Until death

Opens a miniature wormhole to the vast magical energies at the beginning of the universe. All friendly characters have their rate of mana generation doubled. By refracting from the wormhole’s event horizon, all Flux Beam attacks have a chance to hit 0, 1, or 2 additional enemies randomly.

Flux BeamVariable

Fallen KnightOutsider, Humanoid

Armor Dodge Block

Defense:

15 (high)

Attack: 30 (med)

Damage: 50 (high)

Critical chance: 10% (low)

Critical effect: 0.5x (low)

Weapon: Axe & Shield

Flanking: 10 (low)

Seethe

Description

Attack and Defense

Resilience

Effects

Fire: Normal

Poison: Normal

Dark: Resistant

Light: Vulnerable

Arcane: Normal

Fortitude:

Mind:

Evasion:

Knocked Down

Fire Emblem

Life

Leverage (+2)

400

Tillian PhalangiteHuman

Armor Dodge Block

Defense:

12 (med)

Attack: 30 (med)

Damage: 50 (high)

Critical chance: 10% (low)

Critical effect: 0.5x (low)

Weapon: Sarissa Spear

Flanking: No

Description

Attack and Defense

Resilience

Effects

Fire: Normal

Poison: Normal

Dark: Normal

Light: Normal

Arcane: Normal

Fortitude:

Mind:

Evasion:

Knocked Down

Life

Leverage (+1)

300

Sarissa Strike

Phalanx

Type: DefenseRange: GroupCost: 3 leverageDuration: Until death

Any other Phalangites in the party that can activate the ability may do so, forming an impenetrable phalanx. While active, any enemy that attacks a Phalangite from the front provokes a counter-attack opportunity from all other Phalangites in the phalanx that are in range of the enemy (max 2).

The effect ends when any Phalangite in the phalanx dies or is disarmed. Only one phalanx may be active at a time.

Type: PassiveRange: SelfCost: N/ADuration: N/A

The Phalangite wields an extra-long sarissa spear. This allows his melee attack to reach enemies two spaces in front of him, as well as adjacent enemies.

If the Phalangite is disarmed, his sarissa breaks and cannot be recovered, ending this effect for the duration of the battle.

Phalanx Sarissa Strike

Dagger’s Moon a concept only, but it

could become a reality. We are looking

for a development studio and funders to

take on the project. Get in touch with me

at joe.Indvik@gmail.com if interested.